Modern communication networks and electronic devices have changed the way individuals in society interact and communicate. As these networks and devices have evolved so has the connectivity between user devices, networks of sensors, vehicles, buildings, appliances, machines, consumer goods and other items. This type of connectivity between objects is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). Typically each IoT device is assigned a unique identifier (e.g., Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) or International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)). This unique identifier is used by a network provider (e.g., via a messaging platform such as a Short Message Service Center (SMSC)) to deliver messages to an identified target device. These unique identifiers follow a specific format and are of a maximum defined length (e.g., both MSISDN and IMSI cannot be longer than a 15 digit number). While these unique identifiers are sufficient to cater to the current device population (e.g., mobile devices, IoTs, etc.), with the proliferation of IoTs, it is becoming difficult, and will soon become impossible, to assign these unique numbers to each device, for routine messages (e.g., delivery of system messages) because the current number assignment system will be unable to keep up with the demand of billions, if not trillions of IoT devices.
Moreover, each IoT device is generally associated with at least two different unique identifiers. A first unique identifier is assigned to an IoT device when the device is first provisioned. This identifier is generally used only once by the IoT device to initially connect to a service provider (e.g., for activation) and to download a service profile. A second unique identifier is assigned to the IoT device, after activation, and associated with a working profile. Since reusability of these unique identifiers is challenging, provisioning an IoT device with at least two identifiers, one of which is used only once, further exacerbates the problem of number assignment to the growing number of IoT devices because essentially the first unique identifier is wasted after the IoT device is activated with a service profile (e.g., resulting in wastage of limited resources (telephone numbers, MSISDNs, IMSIs, etc.) that can otherwise be used to route phone calls/messages from a person to person.
The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Similarly, some components and/or operations may be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for the purposes of discussion of some of the embodiments of the present technology. Moreover, while the technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the technology to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the technology is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims.